Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

Of all of them, only Finn felt a sense of déjà vu.

(By the way, this is a war game between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia.)

First, the Lilliputians lured Bell and his companions into the city—if they hadn't used methods like defection—then there was the girl of their own race who didn't appear until the latter half of the war—

The puzzle pieces were rapidly connecting in his mind, and Finn couldn't help but whisper:

"So that's what's going on..."

"Commander?"

Ignoring the puzzled members, Finn recalled the appearance of a certain person.

—It's probably that girl.

That girl was probably the most intelligent member of the Hestia Familia; Finn himself had admired her courage. Finn deduced that she had used a magical artifact… no, "magic," and realized he had been tricked.

He also realized that he had been paying too much attention to Bell Crane.

"Recall the troops. The hole created in the formation can be filled by Navi and the others in the north... No, that probably won't work, it's too slow."

Finn initially suggested mobilizing personnel to fill the gaps in troop movement, but then shook his head.

He concluded that his opponent had beaten him to it, and then—clang, clang, clang!!—as if to confirm his opinion, a piercing bell rang out. The sound came from the west, an alarm that a monster had been spotted.

In an instant, Finn was surrounded by shouts.

"Commander!? A huge horde of monsters suddenly appeared from the west, taking advantage of Mr. Raul and the others' absence, and are advancing towards the central area of ​​'Daedalus Road'!"

"I know, calm down. I think Tione and the others have probably noticed too, but I'll still call them back. I want them to join the rest of the garrison in a pincer attack."

The leader remained as steady as a mountain. Seeing his calm demeanor, the girl group members regained their composure and took up their weapons to act.

As Finn calmly gave his instructions, he muttered, "So it's still the west side." He then urged his subordinates to report.

"What is the enemy's route of advance? Where in the 'artificial maze' are they headed?"

"Uh... they're moving in a straight line! They appeared in the west and then moved straight east!"

"—Go straight ahead (…? The route is also westward towards the 'artificial maze'?"

It was only at this point that Finn's expression changed for the first time.

He glanced at the group members who were nodding in confusion, then turned his gaze back to the night view of the maze street.

(I originally thought that since they appeared in the west, they would definitely turn northwest or southwest...)

The Loki Familia discovered four entrances to the "artificial labyrinth." The first is the northeast "door" where the out-of-control Daenerys (Vivel) appeared, followed by the northwest, southwest, and southeast doors. Finn and his crew found these doors, made of the hardest metal (orogen), within the underground passage and have kept guards there ever since.

(Could it be that they know routes we don't?)

Over the past few days, Finn had his men thoroughly explore the underground passages leading to the "artificial labyrinth." But what if there were "doors" that he and his men hadn't found, and what if the enemy knew their locations?

Finn initially thought "impossible," but a memory returned to his mind.

(The god Icarus also mentioned the existence of the "Daedalus Manuscript." If the blueprints for the "artificial labyrinth" existed... would they be in the hands of the enemy?)

When the god (Ikeros) was arrested, he said it wasn't on him. Finn believed him.

But if he fooled Finn's eyes—

"This is bad."

Finn said softly, looking down at his right thumb.

Finn's keen "intuition" is inextricably linked to his thumb. A dull ache in his thumb signals impending danger.

The thumb, which had given the premonition, still felt nothing.

(It seems I've been relying too much on my intuition without realizing it.)

Finn felt ashamed and remorseful, while quickly switching his thoughts.

The original plan was to lure the monsters into the underground passage, but Finn has now cancelled that plan and is focusing his attention on the maze streets where the monsters are still advancing.

He accelerated his thinking, so fast that a gap appeared between the external world and the time in his mind.

"Hey~, Finn~"

At that moment, the slow, deliberate voice of the main god came.

"Where have you been, Loki?"

"Many places~"

Loki appeared in the chaotic camp, but Finn didn't even glance at her and asked with his back to her.

The crimson-haired god walked towards Finn from behind.

"Hmm~, are you thinking about something, Finn?"

"Hmm, it seems I was a bit arrogant. Please don't talk to me for now; consider it a favor."

Finn spoke without looking at Loki; Loki stared intently at his profile.

Then, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

She placed her hands on the dwarf's small shoulders and brought her lips close to his ear.

"Finn—look carefully."

"──"

The whispers of the gods only reached his own ears, causing Finn to pause his thoughts.

Is she referring to the boy (Bell)? -- Or the monster (monster)?

Finn merely shifted his gaze to the side, and Loki's eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled.

"Don't rely on others, just use your own eyes."

"..."

"I'll leave the decision to you from now on. I won't offer any more advice."

Loki suddenly left Finn's side, reverting to his usual cheerful and playful demeanor.

She waved back at the dwarfs' blue eyes that were fixed on her, and departed as casually as the twilight.

"..."

Finn exhaled a breath high up amidst the incessant noise.

But he immediately regained the composure befitting a leader and refocused his gaze on the darkness-filled Daedalus Road.

In order to get to the point where he needed to do something, he called out to one of the group members:

"Call Raul over here, and hurry up."

Interlude of Volume 11: Three Orphans, Midnight Screams, Bloodstained Labyrinth

Hitachi. Chigusa was greatly puzzled.

"Please help me! Xiao Lu... Xiao Lu ran off to church!"

Kashima. Cherry blossoms are just as confused as she is.

Near the northwest outskirts of Daedalus Road, a short walk further leads to the city's main street—East Avenue, where a large number of residents of Labyrinth Street have gathered. The guild had instructed them to take refuge here a few days ago. Among them, several members of the Takemikazuchi Familia are surrounded by children.

"That guy seems to have been keeping a cat a secret from everyone. He said he was going to pick it up and then ran off, and then...!"

"A monster has appeared, but Xiao Lu...!"

"It's okay, calm down, okay?"

Chigusa and the others from the Takemikazuchi Familia originally came to Daedalus Road at the request of the main god to help Bell and the others. However, when the guild staff asked them for help because there were too many refugees, they could not refuse.

The Ganesha Familia and other adventurers remained on guard, while guild staff desperately evacuated the crowd to the East Main Street. Since the monster's howl, the area south of this location had become a battlefield; there was nowhere to take refuge except northwards along the East Main Street. The northern exits were completely jammed with people, creating a massive traffic jam. All the residents feared the monster's attack.

The human boy named Laiyi and the dog-person girl named Fina in front of Chigusa were no exception.

"I also need your help, please, I beg you, save that child...!"

"Don't be like this... lift your head. Even you, an adult, are crying to us, and we don't know what to do."

Sakura, pleading with the somewhat thin, dark-haired, older woman Maria Martell, was at a loss for words and could only offer clumsy replies. The Ganesha Familia, though outnumbering the other adventurers, was busy protecting the evacuation of civilians and couldn't leave their posts. Maria and the others must have run out of options for help, especially since they needed to find a small child.

"Okay, let's go find him. Tell us how to get there... But never mind, asking is probably useless, we're not familiar with the geography of Maze Street."

"Please let me come with you! I'll take you all to the church!"

"I want to go too!" "Me too!"

After Maria volunteered, Lai and Fina also volunteered to go along, which surprised Chigusa and Sakura. "Lai!" Maria shouted to stop them, but the two ignored her and pleaded with Sakura, who was about to say "It's too dangerous."

"Although we're not related by blood... we're all family!"

Upon hearing this, Sakura understood everything, and her furrowed brows revealed her inner turmoil.

"He's an orphan... Damn, it's so hard to refuse."

Sakura and Chigusa were also orphans. So was Mikoto, who transferred to the Hestia Familia. They lost their families for various reasons, which is why they grew up in the shrine run by benevolent gods like Takemikazuchi.

Perhaps because she saw herself in the same situation as Lei and the others, Sakura put her hand on Thick Neck and apologized to Chigusa.

"Chigusa... I'm sorry, please let them travel with us."

Upon hearing this, Chigusa smiled broadly and shook her head.

Chigusa has always loved the clumsy yet gentle cherry blossoms.

Seeing her smile, revealing her right eye which was usually covered by her bangs, Sakura responded with a wry smile.

"Okay, lead the way for us."

"Over here!"

Leaving the other group members behind, Chigusa and Sakura set off with Maria and the children.

Cassandra Illion is moving things.

"Ugh! It's so heavy...!"

She walked unsteadily through a desolate, maze-like street, carrying a wooden box that was almost too big to fit in both hands.

The location was in the northeast corner of the labyrinth town. Perhaps she was lucky; there were no monsters or adventurers in the vicinity, only an eerie gloom. The humanoid emblem of the [Mih Familia] gleamed on the rod she had awkwardly tucked into her waistband.

Cassandra, her long hair swaying, her timid triangular eyes appearing even more fearful, made her way alone through the maze-like back alleys. Soon—the wooden box she was holding began to clatter and thud.

"No, you can't move!"

Cassandra quickly whispered to the wooden box.

She immediately looked around and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that no one was there.

"—Found you, Cassandra! What have you been doing sneaking around all by yourself?!"

“Ahh!?”

However, her companion Daphne Lalos appeared from behind and caught up with her.

Cassandra was so startled that she accidentally dropped the box on the stone floor.

Immediately afterwards, a sharp "Chirp!?" sound came from inside the box.

"..."

"..."

Daphne froze.

Cassandra's face turned pale.

Daphne stared intently at the wooden crate that was still rattling and shaking, her gaze almost making a hole in it, and opened her trembling lips:

"Cassandra...you wouldn't...?"

"Daphne! No! Wait! Please wait a minute!"

Daphne pushed Cassandra, who had her arms outstretched, aside, opened the wooden box, and saw...

"Chirp..."

"Gurgle..."

It was a unicorn rabbit with tears in its eyes, its front paws pressed against its bruised forehead, and a black dog (hellhound).

"Ugh—Ughh ...